“Our Holy and Our Beautiful House”: Jarvis Street Baptist Church

In March 2017, I visited the archives at Jarvis Street Baptist Church (JSBC) in downtown Toronto. While I was there I snapped a few photographs of the sanctuary.

JSBC has a rich history. For many years it was the most prestigious pulpit in the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec (BCOQ). In 1927, the pastor, T. T. Shields, led JSBC and over 70 other churches out of the BCOQ over charges of modernism within the Convention.

Unfortunately, in 1938, JSBC suffered a significant fire that destroyed the entire sanctuary. In the 10 March 1938 issue of The Gospel Witness, quoting the prophet Isaiah (64:11), Shields wrote: “Our Holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up, and all our pleasant things are laid waste.”

As the congregation met in Toronto’s nearby Massey Hall, construction companies worked to rebuild the church. Fortunately, with the plans of the original architect in hand, they were able to reconstruct the sanctuary with only one major difference: the chandelier in the centre of the ceiling was replaced with a beautiful stained glass design that doubles as a gas-powered light.

Built in the Gothic Revival architectural style, the “U” shape of the sanctuary ensures that there are no bad seats.

Taylor Murray is a PhD student in Church History at McMaster Divinity College. Before coming to MDC, he completed an MA in Christian History at Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University. He is a Member at Large with the Canadian Baptist Historical Society.

**The views of this Blog represent those of the author, and not necessarily the CBHS.**